Final answer:
The Scopes Monkey Trial was a landmark case where teacher John Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution, violating Tennessee law. The trial emphasized the cultural tensions of the era and ended with Scopes forced to pay a $100 fine, although the conviction was later overturned.
Step-by-step explanation:
Scopes Monkey Trial
The Scopes Monkey Trial was a significant historical court case involving high school teacher John Scopes, who was accused of violating a Tennessee law that prohibited the teaching of evolution. The trial highlighted the cultural clash between conservative Christian fundamentalists and more secular, liberal modernists of the early twentieth century. Although Scopes confessed to teaching evolution, the legal proceedings drew national attention, especially when defense attorney Clarence Darrow called prosecutor William Jennings Bryan to the stand. Darrow's questioning forced Bryan to admit that the Bible could be interpreted in different ways, which some saw as a humiliation of his fundamentalist beliefs.
John Scopes was found guilty and forced to pay a $100 fine, confirming the power of the anti-evolution law. Despite the conviction, the trial was perceived as a defeat for Bryan, who passed away just days after its conclusion. The original verdict was later overturned on a technicality regarding the fine, but the anti-evolution law stood until it was challenged successfully before the Supreme Court in 1968.